Tire mold



Patented Nov. 25, 1941 UNI TED i STATES 4PJMTENT OFFICE 2,263,791

'TIRE MOLD l'Frank Norbert Winner, Denver, Colo.

Application May 1s, 1939, serial iva-274,419 (o1. 11a-1s) V Y 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in tire repair molds.

As is Well known to those skilled in the art, it

is common practice to repair a tire that has been blown out or otherwise damaged, byv applying to `the damaged portion thereof raw compounds of rubber and cords or fabric impregnated VWith raw rubber lcompoundspafter which the tire is placed `in a sectional `mold wherein the damaged.V part thereof may be simultaneously subjected to pressure by a pneumatic vairbag and superatmospheric temperature to a predetermined degree for a predetermined length of time.

There is a wide spread in the sizes of rubber tires now in use. Various passenger automobiles Vhave various sizes of tires, trucks usually have still larger tires, while tractors and roadbuilding machineryuse tires of still larger cross sectional measurements. In operating a tire repair business, a tire repairman is called upon to repair tires of `diierent cross sectional measurements, yet if he has a special mold `to t each and every tire size thathe may be called upon to repair, the amount of equipment would be entirely out of proportion with" the money` he could hope'to `earn therefrom. In.order properly to subject a tire being repaired, to pressure and heat, a mold must be provided that approximately ts the normal shape and size ofthe tire otherwise the tire would be forced'out oflshape duringth -vulcanization` of the repair material.

Therefore, an objectof the present invention is to provide` a single` combination Atire Vrepair mold that may be used to-accommodate a wide variety of tire sizes. l

Another object isto provide such a mold that may be connected with various sources of .heat energy such as a gas burner and electric heating element or a steam pipeline. v

A further object is to provide `a mold of this character that can be selectively adapted to vulcanize a plurality of tires, of the same or different sizes, at one and the same time.

More speciiically, a particular object of the invention is to provide a combination tire mold that may be usedto vulcanize one tire of relatively large cro'ss sectional measurement and later, optionally divided and adapted to vulcanize two tires of lesser cross sectional measurement, thus providing in one combination vulcanizer, apparatus that will enable a small shop operator to meet substantially any demand that he may encounter for repairing diiferent sizes of tires.

Other objects and advantages resideinA details V55 ing.

of design and construction which will Abe more fully disclosed .in the following description and vthis View being divided and adapted for vulcanizing two tires of different sizes at one and the same time.

To illustrate a practical embodiment of the present` inventive concept, the `component parts 4of an improvedcombination mold built according to this invention, are illustrated ,in the draw- Reference character- I2 denotes a hollow base suitably supported on legs I3 and having one upstanding integral hollow side I4, thehollow interior of which is in communication with the hollow interior of thebase I2. The vinterior `of, the base I2 and the side I4 are intended to be lled with steam or the like, which may be piped infrom a pipelinenot shown, or generated within by the application of heatdirectly to the bottom of the base I2. The exact means of supplying heat to thermold is no particular part of the present inventive concept.

Another hollow waljl I5 is similar to the wall I4 but is movably mounted upon the base I 2, and steam is supplied to said hollowwarll I5 through hoselines I6 that `connect the interior of `the base I2 withv that of the wall I5.V The bottom of tl'ieqbase I2 `is preferably flat while thegupper surfaceof the'base is of a general arcuate conf tour as shown at I1, Figure 1i; The lower edge `of the movably mounted hollow wall` I5 is corre spondingly arcuate in orderto-conforrn withand rest upon the upper arcuate surface of; the base I2. The walls I4 and I5 together with the base I2, combine to provide a tire-receiving `cavity Ahaving a substantially rectangular cross section as clearlyshown in Figure 3.

A matrix I8 preferably made of heat conductive metal such as an aluminum a110yis provided to t in the mold as illustrated in Figure 3. The upper surface of the matrix I8 is shaped ,to approximately conform with the outside tread of some particulartiresuch as` one of the'standard relatively large truck o r tractor tires. jAfter the matrix I8 has been placed in the mold upon the upper surface of the base I2, the movable wall I may be moved inwardly to hold the matrix between itself and the stationary wall I4, by operating a ratchet handle I9 having a ratchet paWl engaging a ratchet wheel 2I that is tightly mounted upon a shaft 22 to rotate gears 23. Gears 23 mesh with racks 24 attached to the movably mounted wall I5 so that upon rotation of the gears 23, the movably mounted Wall I5 is moved inwardly or outwardly with reference to the base I2 according to the direction of rotation of said gears.

After the movably mounted wall I5 is drawnl inwardly to contact the matrix I8, handwheels i 25 may be used to draw wedge nuts 26 upwardly and outwardly with reference toA the ymold base I2, which movement clamps the movably mounted Wall I5 into position through the intermediary of brackets 2'I carried upon said movably mounted wall I5.

To further secure the movably mounted wall I5 in position-and particularly toV prevent its being forced laterally with reference to the base I2 when extremely .high pressure is exerted by means of an airbag in a tire being repaired, a plurality of handscrews 28 are suitably mounted upon brackets attached to the base I2, in a position to thrust against pressure blocks 29 that in turn bear against lower portions of the movably mounted wall I5. It will be understood that various sizes of pressure blocks 29 may obviously be used according to the position of the movably mounted Wall I5. It will be 'understood that variousshapes and sizes of matrices I8 may optionally be used a-nd the movable wall I5 brought in contact therewith by means of the ratchet mechanism hereinabove set forth, the wall I5 being held in its selected position by the operation of handscrews 25 and 28 in cooperation with Wedge nuts 26 and pressure blocks 29.

After the proper matrix has been placed in the mold and the movably mounted wall I5 securely positioned, two cross bars 30 are laid `across the top edges of the walls I4 and I5` Integral with the top edges of the walls I4 and I5 are upstanding clamp brackets 3 I, and notches 32 in the cross bars 30 engage beveled portions 33 of said brackets as shown best in Figure 2. Obviously, by this arrangement, the walls I4 and I5 are supported adjacent their upper edges against relative lateral movement. Screws 34 may be used to apply downward pressure upon bead plates to withstand the upward pressure of the expanding airbag within the tire being repaired as is common practiceV and. will be understood by skilled operators in this art.

When a user desires to vulcanize two tires of smaller cross section such as, for instance, two ordinary passenger automobile tires, a partition 35 having a shape generally comparable to that of the movably mounted wall I5 may be placed in the mold to divide the same into two tirereceiving cavities-36 and 31 respectively. Matrices I8a and Ib may be positioned inthe mold and the dividing partition 35 positioned therebetween and securely held by handwheels 25a.

The clamping mechanisms 25 and 25a engage under flanges |25 that extend adjacent the cavities, for drawing the partition 35 and the movably lmounted wall I5 downwardly toward the bottom of the cavity, which is the upper arcuate surface of the base I2. These clamping devices prevent upward movement of the dividing --partition 35 `and the movably mounted wall I5 with reference to the base I2 when the expansive force of a pneumatic airbag is exerted within a tire being vulcanized in the mold.

When the dividing partition 35 is used, two cross bars 30a are positioned end to end across the upper edges of the side walls I4 and I5 in abutting end relationship, and the outer end of each cross bar 30a may project through openings 38 that are provided in each upstanding clamp bracket 3I for the purpose. Each cross bar 30a may be notched Vsimilar to notches 32 in cross bar 30 to provide a support for the Yupper edges of the walls I4 and I5 to prevent their spreading apart under airbag pressure. The inner abutting ends of the cross bars 30a are each provided with a notch. Suitable plates as exemplified at 38a, are provided on each upstanding clamp bracket 3I and on both sides of the dividing partition 35 for cooperative engagement with the respective notches in said cross bars 30a. When airbag pressure is exerted within a tire being repaired in the mold, the cross bars'will be forced upwardlyand therefore the notches are on the upperY surfaces of these cross bars. It is obvious that various sizes of matrices I8a and I8b maybe used to t the tires to be vulcanized.

Thus it will be seen that a mold according to the drawing and therefore according to a preferred form of the `present inventive concept,

Vmay be used successfully to repair a'wide variety of tires having different cross sections. Ordinarily, when the tire being repaired is of relatively large cross section such as a truck or tractor tire, only one tire is vulcanized at a time, the movably mounted wall I5 being positioned to fit the selected matrix I3 and the tire. When tires of smaller cross section such as ordinary passenger automobile tires, are to be repaired, the proper matrices IBa and ISI) are selected and the dividing partition 35 converts a single cavity mold into a double cavity mold that in turn is adaptable to fit any standard tire of relatively small cross-section.

This combination mold is an important advance in the art of manufacturing tire repair equipment because it completely fulfills the stated objects of this invention and enables a relatively small tire repair shop to handle a wide variety of tire sizes. Before the invention of this improved combination mold, many small tire repair shops were compelled to decline repair business oiered them simply because they did not have the equipment properly to handle the work.

The particular feature of the present combination tire mold is that while the bottom of the tire-receiving cavity is of arcuate contour considered longitudinally, it is of substantially rectangular cross section. The object of this particular shape is to provide a surface along which the dividing partition 35 and the movably mounted wall I5 may be moved laterally and fit the mold perfectly .in any selected position. Furthermore, a mold having a cavity of this rectangular cross sectional shape is very easily machined or otherwise surfaced.

While this specification discloses preferred means for reducing the present invention to practice and a preferred embodiment of the invention, changes may occur to those skilled in the 'art and may be made within the scope of the appended claims, 'without departing from this inventive concept.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A tire mold having a longitudinally arcuate tire-receiving cavity of substantially rectangular cross section and including a hollow steamholcling base and hollow upstanding sides one of which is movable with reference to the other, and having longitudinally projecting transverse ianges at opposite ends of the cavity adjacent the bottom thereof, a solid heat-conducting partition having an arcuate edge movably positioned in the cavity between said sides, brackets on the ends of said partition projecting downwardly and inwardly below said flanges, wedge-nuts positioned in cooperative relationship between said brackets and said flanges, hand screws threaded through said brackets and engaging the wedgenuts for drawing the partition downwardly in the cavity, means for moving said movable side to selected positions with reference to other parts of the mold, means adjacent the bottom of the movable side for holding the same in selected 20 positions, steam hose connecting the interior of the movable side with the interior of the base, the means adjacent the tops of the mold sides and the top of the partition for holding them in predetermined spaced relationship.

2. A tire mold having a longitudinally arcuate tire-receiving cavity of substantially rectangular cross section and including a hollow steam-holding base and hollow opstanding sides, and having longitudinally projecting transverse flanges at opposite ends of the cavity adjacent the bottom thereof, a solid heat-conducting partition having an arcuate lower edge movably positioned in the cavity between said sides, means at opposite ends of said partition positioned and adaptedto engage said flanges for drawing said partition downwardly in said cavity against the bottom thereof, and means adjacent the tops of the mold sides and the top of the partition for holding them in selected spaced relationship.

F. NORBERT WINNER. 

